Johnson, as always, did his part. He goes into the NASCAR AAA Texas 500 at
Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday tied with Matt Kenseth for the lead in the Chase
for the Sprint Cup. It marks the ninth time in the 10-year history of the Chase
that Johnson has been first or second with three races remaining.

Keselowski could not keep up his end of the deal. Life as a brash defending
champion did not go well for him.

A year ago, Johnson vs. Keselowski was the theme of this race. Keselowski is
out of the picture this time. He became only the second defending Cup champion
to miss the Chase. Tony Stewart suffered the same ignominious fate in 2006.

That triggers the inevitable questions. Was Keselowski a one-year wonder, or
can he return as a more competitive racer next season? Which season is the
fluke: the title run or the current disappointment?

“I haven’t looked at disappointments,” Keselowski said. “I have looked at
successes. If you spend your time focusing on your disappointments, you will get
more of them. I have been focusing on the successes and how to repeat them.

“You can’t dwell on the things that haven’t gone your way. You have to just
acknowledge them and move on.”

While Johnson and Kenseth compete for the title in the race, the rebuilding
of Brad Keselowski, model 2014, continues.

He won on the similar 11/2-mile
oval of Charlotte Motor Speedway three weeks ago and finished fourth last week
in Martinsville, Va. It is Keselowski’s best stretch since opening the season
with four consecutive top-5s, which put him atop the standings.

Keselowski rejected the suggestion that this is the first sign of a renewed
commitment to return to the top level. The championship did not breed
complacency, he said.

“I was never not motivated to be stronger or better,” Keselowski said.
“There’s no change there. A true competitor is always looking to get
better.”

Keselowski’s unraveling began when inspectors confiscated rear-housing parts
from his No. 2 Ford before the spring race at TMS. He received a 25-point
penalty after appeals and also picked up a six-point fine after the front end
failed post-race inspection at Dover International Speedway.

The imbroglio at TMS seemed to divert the focus of the entire team.
Keselowski, an excitable boy, had only two top-10s in the next 11 races and
dropped back in the pack.

There were other issues, Keselowski said. He did not perform well in several
races, particularly on the restrictor-plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega. The
team ran into the confounding element of “bad racing luck” in the form of
ill-timed cautions, equipment problems and lost track position through
inconsistent pit stops.

“You learn all the time,” Keselowski said. “There are lots of things for me
to learn from this season and get sharper.”

The biggest lesson is how to handle the Ford Fusion.

Penske Racing, which features Keselowski, switched from Dodge to Ford this
season. Combined with the debut of the Gen-06 car, that made this a challenging
season for the entire Penske operation as it learned a new car under new
conditions.

“Everything is a factor,” Keselowski said. “But there have been a lot of
changes this year, much larger than our change to Ford. We haven’t had the year
we wanted, and I am not afraid to acknowledge that.

“But I also know there were a lot of things outside our control that got us
where we are. And the things that are in our control we haven’t exactly done the
best job with but I think we will in the future.”

Keselowski alluded to “key moves going on behind the scenes” to strengthen
the Ford for next season. Penske added emphasis to his stated confidence in
Keselowski by signing him to a contract extension through 2017. Work is already
underway on 2014.

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